What We Believe

We worship the infinite, personal, holy God

who created the universe

  • God is one God in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
  • God has an absolute claim on our lives as our Creator
  • We find our significance in being created by a personal God
  • God is the source of all of our values and has communicated with us most clearly in Jesus Christ.

Humans as sinful creatures

  • Humanity has refused to give thanks to God and actually want to play God
  • Where God has revealed truth on how to live humanity has fought God and said I’ll do it my way.
  • The result of sin is physical and spiritual death and there is nothing we can do to help ourselves.

Jesus Is our Merciful Redeemer

  • Jesus is the Prophet … if you want to know what God is like look at Jesus He is God in the flesh
  • Jesus is the Priest … the cross is the only place to look in all of history that demonstrates that God has dealt with sin and evil in our world.  It is because of this that Jesus is the only way to salvation.
  • Jesus is the King.  Jesus resurrection demonstrated to the world that he was who he claimed to be God’s son and savior, The Lord of the Universe and Hope of the World.

Our Response

  • The Bible calls us to repent and believe or turn and trust.
  • This action of turning and trusting involves using our mind, emotions and will.

God’s Response

  • The Good News is that God is involved with us in this process.  He promises to give us His Holy Spirit as we come to Him.  This is a promise of power.  It is only through God’s power that we are changed. 
  • Paul, says it well in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” God does the work of changing lives.

Three Confessing Church Standards:

1.  That Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the only way of salvation.

• ”Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14.6
• “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men and women by which we must be saved."  Acts 4.12 

• “No one who denies the Son has the Father, He who confesses the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2.23 

     
2.  That Holy Scripture (the Bible) is the Triune God’s revealed Word, the church’s only infallible rule of faith and life.

• “Thy word [O Lord] is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path.”  Psalm 119.105

• “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in the things that please God.”   2 Timothy 3.16-17 

3.  That God’s people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. 

This includes honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate.

• “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh ”    Galatians 5.13 

• “Jesus looked up at the woman who had been caught in a obvious and serious sin and said to her, ‘Woman, is there no one here to condemn you?’  She said, ‘No one, Lord.’  And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.’”  John 8.10-11 

Essential Tenets

This Essential Tenets are being studied by the session and staff of First Pres Yakima; a PDF version of the 31-page document can be downloaded below.

The first eight pages address the way in which this can be used by church entities.

The actual essential tenets study begins on page 8. On page 17, there is a section called ‘Reformed Distinctives.’  This section identifies beliefs that are common to the reformed tradition within the church

but are not considered essentials for belief.

Essential Tenets PDF

Confessing Church

Confessiong

Church Movement

The Session of First Presbyterian Church of Yakima has aligned itself with the Confessing Church Movement. 

There is a desire for our church to take a stand in these days of moral confusion.  We want to declare that God’s Word has revealed to us matters of faith and lifestyle. As such, we have adopted and applied the Three Core Confessing Church Standards to the left.

For more information about The Confessing Church Movement: WebLink: Confessing Church Movement